Chemical Logistics
Chemical logistics across Europe: ADR dangerous goods, rubber-lined chemical tankers and bulk liquids, Collection ex works, terminal or port and recurring lanes, coordinated by one contact.
Chemical logistics across Europe: ADR dangerous goods, rubber-lined chemical tankers and bulk liquids. Collection ex works, terminal or port, tank wash, ADR documents and CMR insurance including ADR. Lean model, no trucks owned, one point of contact per shipment.
What chemical logistics actually takes
Chemical logistics is more than a truck. It is matching the product to the right tank, a carrier certified for that ADR class, correct placarding and transport documents, the wash between loads, insurance that covers dangerous goods, and someone who owns the shipment end to end.
We coordinate all of it. You deal with one person at Vektor who sources the carrier, runs the paperwork and stays with the load from plant to delivery.
Our chemical freight
The core is class 8 acids and caustics in rubber-lined tanks, plus class 3 flammable liquids and bulk industrial liquids. We run recurring corridors between Central Europe, the Baltics and the Nordics, and set agreed rates for repeat lanes.
For producers and distributors we hold capacity on the corridors we know, so volume moves on a predictable schedule.
The lean model, and why it helps you
We own no trucks, and on the lanes we run often we hold the same ones on charter in our own livery. That sounds like a weakness and is the opposite: we are not trying to fill our own fleet, so we place your load with whichever vetted carrier has the right tank on the right lane, and we price it honestly.
Where your direction matches a backhaul, we price the empty leg and the rate drops, with the same ADR compliance and one invoice.
Chemical logistics, common questions
What does a chemical logistics provider do?
Sources the right tank and ADR-certified carrier for your chemical, handles placarding, documents, the wash and insurance, and coordinates the shipment end to end through one contact.
Do you handle recurring chemical volume?
Yes. For producers and distributors we set up recurring lanes with agreed rates and held capacity, so pricing and schedule are predictable.
Which ADR classes do you cover?
Class 8 corrosives and class 3 flammables are the focus. Other classes are arranged on request with a suitably certified carrier.
What chemical logistics actually involves
Chemical logistics is not general freight with a placard on the back. The product dictates the tank lining, the lining dictates which carriers can quote, and the classification dictates the route. Get any of those wrong and the load does not move.
We handle the whole chain: matching the tank to the product, checking the last load in that tank, arranging the wash with a European cleaning document, preparing the transport paperwork, and planning the route against tunnel restriction codes. You get one contact and one invoice.
| Requirement | What it decides | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Tank lining | Whether the tank survives the product | Rubber quoted for an oxidiser |
| Last load | Whether contamination is possible | No cleaning certificate on file |
| Tank code | Whether the vehicle is legal for the load | Code too weak for the packing group |
| Tunnel code | Whether the planned route is usable | Alpine route closed to that code |
| Temperature | Whether the product arrives liquid | Caustic crystallising in winter |
What is chemical logistics?
Chemical logistics covers the transport, handling and documentation of chemical products, including matching tank linings to the product, verifying the previous load, arranging certified cleaning, preparing dangerous goods paperwork and routing around tunnel restrictions.
Chemical logistics companies and what separates them
Most chemical logistics companies can move a neutral bulk liquid on a busy lane. The difference shows on the awkward jobs: an aggressive acid needing a specific lining, a product that must stay warm across winter, or a tank that cannot carry the previous load's residue.
We built the business around that end of the market rather than the easy freight, which is why our questions at quotation are about chemistry and tank codes before they are about price.
The rules and figures behind this page are published by the European chemical industry council Cefic and by the ECHA chemicals database.
Where European chemical capacity actually sits
Chemical tanker availability in Europe is not evenly spread, and that geography sets your price more than distance does. The dense core runs from Antwerp and Rotterdam up the Rhine through Ludwigshafen, Leverkusen and the Ruhr. Inside that triangle equipment is plentiful and backhauls are easy. Outside it the calculation changes.
- Antwerp, Rotterdam, Moerdijk and Terneuzen: highest tank density and the deepest storage cluster in Europe
- Rhine corridor into Basel and Northern Italy: strong flows, but Alpine tunnel codes constrain routing
- Nordics and Baltics: thin backhaul, so the empty return leg is genuinely inside the rate
- Iberia: long lanes with limited specialist lining availability, plan lead time rather than chasing price
- UK: post Brexit customs adds a documentation layer that has to be complete before the vehicle sails
Need chemical logistics that knows the technicals?
Send the product, the tank and the lane. We come back with a managed rate and a vetted carrier.
Request a rateRelated chemical freight pages
Chemical transport companies
Bulk liquid transport
Bulk chemical transport
ISO tank container transport
Chemical & rubber-lined tanker
Bitumen transport
Bulk powder transport
Lithium battery transport
ADR class 2 and cryogenic transport
ADR tanker reference data
Supply corridor map
Corridors we run
| Corridor | Distance | Transit | Equipment | ADR classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moerdijk → Aarhus Shell Moerdijk, port and industry | 770 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Geleen → Aarhus Chemelot, port and industry | 806 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Litvinov → Aarhus Orlen Unipetrol Zaluzi, port and industry | 823 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Antwerp → Aarhus chemical cluster, BASF, Covestro and Ineos, port and industry | 832 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Terneuzen → Aarhus Dow Benelux, port and industry | 851 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Frankfurt Hoechst → Aarhus Industriepark Hoechst, port and industry | 855 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Plock → Aarhus Orlen refinery, port and industry | 918 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Ludwigshafen → Aarhus BASF Verbund site, port and industry | 940 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Kedzierzyn-Kozle → Aarhus Grupa Azoty nitrogen chemicals, port and industry | 1 046 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Burghausen → Aarhus Wacker and OMV, the Bavarian chemical triangle, port and industry | 1 133 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Linz → Aarhus Borealis and voestalpine, port and industry | 1 145 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Schwechat → Aarhus OMV refinery and Vienna industry, port and industry | 1 236 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Bratislava → Aarhus Slovnaft refinery, port and industry | 1 258 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Porvoo → Aarhus Neste Kilpilahti refinery, port and industry | 1 258 km | 2 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Szazhalombatta → Aarhus MOL Danube refinery, port and industry | 1 439 km | 3 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Porto Marghera → Aarhus Venice petrochemical, port and industry | 1 496 km | 3 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Lyon → Aarhus Vallee de la Chimie, port and industry | 1 525 km | 3 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Ravenna → Aarhus chemical and offshore, port and industry | 1 641 km | 3 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Fos-sur-Mer → Aarhus Marseille Fos petrochemical, port and industry | 1 828 km | 3 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Basel → Athens Swiss pharma and chemical sites, distribution | 2 110 km | 4 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Fos-sur-Mer → Athens Marseille Fos petrochemical, distribution | 2 113 km | 4 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Leuna → Athens Leuna and Schkopau, TotalEnergies and Dow, distribution | 2 181 km | 4 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Tarragona → Aarhus Catalan chemical cluster, port and industry | 2 242 km | 4 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Brindisi → Aarhus Versalis petrochemical, port and industry | 2 270 km | 4 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Stenungsund → Athens Borealis and Perstorp cracker cluster, distribution | 2 994 km | 5 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Sines → Aarhus Repsol and Galp petrochemical, port and industry | 3 087 km | 5 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Porvoo → Athens Neste Kilpilahti refinery, distribution | 3 106 km | 6 days, ferry leg | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
| Porsgrunn → Athens Yara and Ineos Herøya, distribution | 3 198 km | 5 days | Tanker or ISO tank, curtainsider for packed goods | 3, 8, 9 |
The lanes sit behind this table, every one of them 600 km or longer. If yours is not listed it is still priced the same way, against a carrier already running the return leg.
Distances are road distance estimated from the site coordinates. Transit follows EU drivers' hours at 650 km a day, plus a day where the lane needs a ferry.